Y'all Come Sit a Spell

Good morning from Day 1 of 8 glorious sea days.  Coffee is amazing, breakfast was delicious and I have nothing I have to do for the next week.   When I think about something I’ve done that younger me would be proud of, I keep coming back to publishing my books. It still feels a little surprising to say that. For a long time, I had ideas and projects I cared about, but when the work got frustrating, I would put it down. Sometimes I told myself I would come back to it later. Often, later never came.
Having a learning disability has shaped the way I approach writing. Getting an idea onto the page and carrying it through all the steps to a finished book can take a lot of patience. There are plenty of places along the way to feel overwhelmed or wonder if I can keep going. I know that feeling well. In the past, frustration often meant I stopped.
With these books, I wanted to prove to myself that I could stay with something difficult and see it through. That didn’t mean every moment was easy, or that I never got frustrated. It meant I kept finding my way back to the work. Page by page, chapter by chapter, I kept going until the book was finished and published.
Seeing a book I wrote out in the world means more to me than I can easily explain. It is something real I made, something readers can hold and use. And it is proof I can return to a project, work through the hard parts, and bring it to completion.
Younger me would be proud of the books, of course. But I think she would be even prouder that I didn’t give up on myself this time. I’m proud of that too. 

So go do something younger you would be proud of, I’m going to find a trivia game and a drink.